Foreign Sec to visit China, Russia

NEW DELHI, Apr 11:  Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh will embark on a two-nation tour to China and Russia beginning Sunday during which she will hold talks with her counterparts as well as other leaders on range of key bilateral, regional and international issues.

Singh will travel to Beijing on April 13 on a two-day visit where she will co-chair the sixth India–China Strategic Dialogue with her counterpart Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin.

The two sides will review the entire range of bilateral relations including plans for leadership-level visits in the second half of the year as part of ‘Year of India–China Friendly Exchanges’. She will also call on Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Singh will be in Moscow from April 16 to 17 and will conduct the annual Foreign Office Consultations with her Russian counterparts First Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov and Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov.

The two sides will assess the ongoing cooperation and review the “calendar of bilateral high-level exchanges” in the run-up to the annual summit scheduled for later this year.

Through the visits, the Foreign Secretary will ensure that the momentum in bilateral relations with China and Russia is maintained, the External Affairs Ministry said. (PTI)